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Dubai to launch region’s first AI model to detect deepfake videos
This model, which will launch by the end of this year, has a 91 per cent accuracy rate, among the highest in the world
- PUBLISHED: Wed 16 Sept 2026, 3:02 PM
The Dubai Electronic Security Centre (DESC) announced it will soon launch an artificial intelligence model to detect deepfake videos. Called SARAAB, the model scans videos and uses a heat map to highlight the specific facial aspects that have been deepfaked.
“If it was a two-minute video, we would analyse it for the whole of two minutes. Maybe the last 30 seconds are deepfaked. So, that will also be analysed as well with the model,” Hassan Majid Alkhazraji, Senior Artificial Intelligence Executive at DESC, told Khaleej Times.
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He added that this model, which will launch by the end of this year, has a 91 per cent accuracy rate, among the highest in the world.
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DESC made the announcements on the first day of Gisec Global, a 3-day cybersecurity exhibition and conference, taking place from September 16 to September 18 at the Dubai Exhibition Centre in Expo City.
SARAAB will be deployed on Hugging Face, an open-source platform which allows user to view the source code and modify or enhance it as they wish. The model is also the first model developed by a government entity in the Arab region, he said.
New initiatives at Gisec
DESC also launched the Dubai Cyber Skills Framework during Gisec, which provides a unified reference for qualifications, certifications, training pathways, and career progression for professionals across the sector.
The framework serves cybersecurity professionals, employers, academic institutions, and training providers, providing a common methodology for measuring and developing competencies in line with internationally recognised standards.
The centre is also introducing the ISR Auditor Certification Program, which equips auditors and information security professionals to assess compliance with the Information Security Regulation through a consistent methodology and clearly defined standards.
The programme focuses on the practical application of auditing and evidence assessment, contributing to greater efficiency and quality in auditing practices across Dubai.
“Dubai continues to establish an advanced model for cybersecurity, built on anticipating change, developing national capabilities, and transforming challenges into opportunities for innovation and progress,” Yousuf Hamad Al Shaibani, Chief Executive of the Dubai Electronic Security Centre, said.
“We believe that leadership in this field is not achieved simply by keeping pace with change, but by anticipating it and contributing to shaping its future.”
He added that the initiatives launched during Gisec embody this approach and reflect the centre’s ambition to develop solutions and expertise that originate in Dubai and create an impact beyond its borders.
Hind Aldah is a business reporter based in Sharjah. In her spare time, you will find her playing classical guitar, painting amateur oil paintings, or crocheting the same old scarf that leads nowhere.